Key Takeaways
1. Cultivate Courage as an Innate Quality of the Soul
Every day is a fresh opportunity on the part of the human ego to gather more and more exploits of heroism.
Courage is inherent. Success, health, and wisdom are natural attributes of the soul. Many people suffer due to a lack of concentration, perseverance, and courage, which paralyzes their innate faculty for success. To claim your birthright of perfection and prosperity, rid yourself of the delusion of limitations.
Overcoming challenges. Meet every circumstance on the battlefield of life with the courage of a hero and the smile of a conqueror. Consider every task that needs attention as a duty—an inherent urge of life toward progression. Embrace beneficial changes with courage, accepting that life is an endless procession of gains and losses, joys and sorrows.
Developing inner strength. Take heart at the thought of hard work, like a true warrior plunging into battle or an alpinist facing a sheer cliff. Set out resolutely to conquer flesh-consciousness through deep, daily efforts in meditation. Remember that you have all the courage, strength, and intelligence necessary to overcome any seeming difficulty at any given moment.
2. Harness the Power of Calmness in Daily Life
Calmness is more dynamic and more powerful than peace. Calmness gives the devotee power to overcome all the obstacles in his life.
The source of power. Every individual has a soul that is eternally calm and undisturbed. By worldly desires, we become identified with the weakness of the body, always fearing limitations. Direct your attention away from bodily limitations and meditate until delusion vanishes, finding yourself as the everlasting soul living in the fortress of omnipresence.
Cultivating inner peace. Remain ever calm within and be even-minded. When working, be calmly active. Your strength will come from within, independent of outer incentives. Play your tragic or comic parts in life with an inner smile, remembering that your real nature is eternal bliss.
Practical applications:
- Before bed, affirm: "I am the Prince of Peace sitting on the throne of Poise."
- Keep your mind unruffled through sudden material gains or losses.
- Maintain calmness in speech and mind, attaining peace and happiness.
- Live a godly life, helping everyone who crosses your path through your mere presence.
3. Build Unshakeable Confidence as a Child of the Infinite
Cultivate the consciousness that the Divine Spirit is your own Father and is the owner of the whole universe, along with all of its abundance.
Divine inheritance. As a child of God, you have the absolute right to possess anything, even as He does. Never beg or pray for anything, but hold the thought that you have everything already. You are the child of the Emperor of the Universe.
Overcoming limitations. If you have an inferiority complex, remember that success, health, and wisdom are your rightful heritage. Your difficulty is due to weakness, which can be overcome by determination, courage, common sense, and faith in God and yourself. Change your mental attitude at once if you're convinced you're a failure.
Building self-confidence:
- Make a continuous effort to be better, focusing all your concentration on ceaseless efforts to succeed.
- Remember that your past difficulties came to strengthen your determination, not to crush you.
- Use your unlimited divine powers to succeed, knowing that God wants you to conquer life's difficult tests.
- Disregard praise and blame, focusing instead on self-improvement and truth.
4. Overcome Worry, Fear, and Nervousness Through Mental Discipline
Fear is a mental poison, unless it is used as an antidote — a stimulus to spur a person on to calm caution.
Managing worry. Worries often result from attempting too many things too quickly. Do not "bolt" your mental duties, but thoroughly process them with attention and good judgment. Go on worry fasts, refusing to worry during specific hours of the day, gradually extending the duration.
Conquering fear. Fear intensifies and magnifies physical pain and mental agonies. Instead of throttling your creative mental powers with fear, use it as a goad to find practical solutions. Kill fear by refusing to be afraid, knowing you're safe behind the battlements of God's eternal safety.
Overcoming nervousness:
- Practice relaxation techniques, such as cold showers or splashing your face with cold water.
- Maintain a good diet and keep company with calm people.
- Learn to control energy through meditation and energization exercises.
- Develop intuition through calmness, concentration, and holding onto the after-effects of meditation.
5. Uproot Negative Emotions for Spiritual Growth
Anger is not an antidote for anger. A strong wrath may bring suppression of a weaker wrath, but it will never kill it.
Managing anger. When angry, say nothing. Think of anger as a disease and break it up by mental warm baths of thinking of those with whom you could never be angry. Start your machinery of calmness, moving the cogwheel of peace, love, and forgiveness.
Overcoming other negative emotions:
- Sadness: Banish it with joy; destroy sickening thoughts of failure with success consciousness.
- Inferiority/Superiority complex: Develop self-confidence by conquering weaknesses and founding it on actual achievements.
- Mental stagnation: Drink in the fresh air of others' vital thoughts and views, feasting on creative thinking within yourself and others.
Cultivating positivity. Be silent and calm every night for at least ten minutes before retiring and again in the morning. This will produce an unbreakable inner habit of happiness, enabling you to meet all trying situations with joyful confidence, calmness, and courage.
6. Practice Scientific Healing Affirmations for Inner Strength
Words that are saturated with sincerity, conviction, faith, and intuition are like vibration bombs, which can explode the rocks of difficulties and create the change desired.
Power of affirmations. Man's word is Spirit in man. Every word that leaves your mouth ought to be potent with genuine soul vibration. Sincere words or affirmations repeated understandingly, feelingly, and willingly are sure to move the omnipresent Cosmic Vibratory Force to render aid in your difficulty.
Effective practice:
- Repeat affirmations with a loud intonation, fading into a whisper, then into mental chanting.
- Practice with attention, devotion, and deep conviction.
- Move from conscious to subconscious to superconscious chanting.
- Focus on physiological centers: heart for feeling, medulla for energy, point between eyebrows for will.
Sample affirmations:
- For success: "I am brave, I am strong. Perfume of success thoughts blows in me, blows in me."
- For healing: "Thy cosmic current flows in me, flows in me, through my medulla, flows in me, flows in me."
- For spiritual growth: "O Holy Vibration, Thou art I, Thou art I, My soul is Thine, Thy spirit is mine."
7. Deepen Your Meditation to Attune to Your Highest Self
Teach me not to drug myself with the opiate of restlessness. Each day I will meditate more deeply than yesterday. Each tomorrow I will meditate more deeply than today.
Importance of meditation. Meditation helps you stop the storm of breath, mental restlessness, and sensory disturbances raging in the lake of your mind. It allows you to behold the undistorted reflection of your soul, glistening with the light of divine presence.
Technique: Hong-Sau
- Sit erect with spine straight and deeply relax.
- Close eyes or fix gaze at the point between eyebrows.
- Mentally watch your breath without controlling it.
- As breath enters, mentally chant "Hong"; as it exits, chant "Sau."
- Practice for at least 10 minutes, gradually increasing duration.
Benefits of practice:
- Lengthens lifespan by resting the heart
- Liberates vast amounts of Life Current or energy
- Helps rise above body-consciousness
- Develops intuition and calmness
- Connects you with the Great Spirit present as your soul
8. Embrace Your All-Powerful Divine Nature
Being endowed with free choice, I am in reality the son of God. I have been dreaming that I am a mortal man. I am now awake.
Your true nature. You are made in the all-powerful image of the Divine Lion of the Universe. Most of us, however, have been born and brought up in the sheepfold of mortal weakness, bleating with fear, lack, and death, instead of roaring with immortality and power.
Awakening to divinity:
- Spend time in daily meditation, longer and deeper, to become Christlike.
- Remember that you are eternally God's child, with your real home in God's kingdom.
- Realize that you are not this body, but the Infinite Spirit within.
- Find ever-new joy in God-contact through deep meditation.
Living your divine nature:
- Don't be a slave to things or possessions; simplify your needs.
- Spend your time in search of lasting happiness or bliss.
- Focus on lifting yourself from ignorance to understanding and enlightenment.
- Rid your thoughts and emotions of anger, jealousy, pride, revenge, fear, sense of lack, and sickness.
- Remember that you are the owner of the cosmos when you realize your oneness with the Father.
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FAQ
1. What is "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda about?
- Practical Spiritual Handbook: The book is a concise guide to reclaiming inner strength, focusing on developing courage, calmness, and confidence through spiritual and practical means.
- Teachings of Yoga: It introduces the ancient science of Yoga as a method for soul awakening and self-mastery, blending Eastern wisdom with practical advice for daily living.
- Overcoming Negativity: Yogananda addresses how to overcome fear, worry, nervousness, and other negative emotions by attuning to one's divine nature.
- Affirmations and Meditation: The book provides specific affirmations, healing techniques, and meditation practices to help readers access their highest potential.
2. Why should I read "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda?
- Timeless Wisdom: The book distills Yogananda’s teachings, offering practical steps to face life’s challenges with inner strength and joy.
- Universal Relevance: Its advice applies to anyone seeking greater peace, self-confidence, and resilience, regardless of religious or cultural background.
- Actionable Techniques: Readers receive concrete tools—affirmations, meditations, and mindset shifts—that can be immediately applied to improve mental and emotional well-being.
- Spiritual Depth: The book goes beyond self-help, guiding readers toward spiritual realization and a deeper connection with their true self.
3. What are the key takeaways from "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda?
- Innate Divine Qualities: Courage, calmness, and confidence are inherent in the soul and can be reclaimed through right thinking and spiritual practice.
- Power of Thought: Thoughts shape reality; affirming positive qualities and denying negativity transforms one’s experience.
- Meditation and Affirmation: Regular meditation and the use of scientific affirmations are essential for overcoming fear, worry, and self-doubt.
- Self-Mastery: True happiness and success come from mastering the mind and emotions, not from external circumstances.
4. How does Paramahansa Yogananda define and teach courage in "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence"?
- Courage as Soul Quality: Yogananda teaches that courage is an innate attribute of the soul, often obscured by fear and self-limiting beliefs.
- Facing Life’s Challenges: He encourages meeting every situation with the “courage of a hero and the smile of a conqueror,” viewing difficulties as opportunities for growth.
- Overcoming Fear: The book provides affirmations and meditative practices to dissolve fear and awaken the “heroic Self.”
- Embracing Change: Yogananda emphasizes that beneficial change requires courage, and that resisting change leads to stagnation and suffering.
5. What is the role of calmness according to "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda?
- Source of Power: Calmness is described as the foundation of true power, enabling one to remain undisturbed by life’s ups and downs.
- Even-Mindedness: The book teaches the importance of being even-minded in pleasure and pain, gain and loss, as a path to inner freedom.
- Practical Techniques: Yogananda offers practical advice—such as meditation, affirmations, and self-analysis—to cultivate lasting calmness.
- Calmness in Action: He advocates being “calmly active and actively calm,” integrating serenity into all aspects of life.
6. How does "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda help readers build confidence?
- Divine Heritage: Confidence is rooted in recognizing oneself as a child of the Infinite, inherently endowed with power and abundance.
- Positive Self-Image: The book encourages readers to reject inferiority and superiority complexes, focusing instead on actual achievements and self-improvement.
- Affirmations for Confidence: Yogananda provides specific affirmations to reinforce self-belief and the ability to overcome obstacles.
- Handling Criticism and Failure: He teaches that praise and blame do not define one’s worth, and that failures are opportunities to sow the seeds of future success.
7. What methods does Paramahansa Yogananda recommend for overcoming worry, fear, and nervousness in "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence"?
- Worry Fasting: Yogananda introduces the concept of “worry fasts,” designating periods where one refuses to worry and instead focuses on cheerful action.
- Transforming Fear: He advises using fear as a stimulus for practical solutions, rather than allowing it to paralyze the mind.
- Physical and Mental Practices: Techniques include deep breathing, relaxation, association with positive people, and specific dietary and lifestyle recommendations.
- Spiritual Perspective: The book teaches that fear and worry are illusions, dispelled by connecting with the inner divine presence through meditation.
8. What are the "Scientific Healing Affirmations" in "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda, and how should they be practiced?
- Power of the Word: Yogananda explains that words, when charged with soul force, can transform consciousness and circumstances.
- Affirmation Technique: Affirmations should be repeated with sincerity, conviction, and increasing attention—moving from loud chanting to mental repetition.
- Integration with Meditation: Affirmations are most effective when practiced in a meditative state, directing attention to specific physiological centers (heart, medulla, point between eyebrows).
- Faith and Consistency: The key to success is unwavering faith, regular practice, and allowing affirmations to penetrate the subconscious and superconscious mind.
9. How does meditation feature in "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda, and what is the Hong Sau technique?
- Central Practice: Meditation is presented as the primary means to attune to the highest within and realize one’s divine nature.
- Hong Sau Technique: This is a specific method involving breath awareness and mental chanting of “Hong” (inhalation) and “Sau” (exhalation) to calm the mind and body.
- Benefits of Practice: Regular meditation leads to inner calmness, intuitive guidance, and liberation from body-consciousness.
- Practical Instructions: The book provides detailed steps for practicing Hong Sau, emphasizing relaxation, concentration, and gradual deepening of awareness.
10. What does "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda say about overcoming other negative emotions like anger, jealousy, and pride?
- Self-Work Priority: Yogananda stresses focusing on self-purification rather than judging others, as negative emotions block spiritual progress.
- Anger Management: He recommends treating anger as a disease, using calmness, love, and forgiveness as antidotes, and employing physical remedies like cold water if necessary.
- Root Causes: Negative emotions often arise from obstructed desires or ignorance; understanding and addressing these roots is essential.
- Daily Practices: Regular periods of silence, introspection, and affirmation help uproot negative emotions and establish lasting happiness.
11. What is the significance of the "Lion Who Became a Sheep" story in "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda?
- Allegory of Self-Realization: The story illustrates how individuals, though divine in essence, often identify with weakness and limitation due to upbringing and environment.
- Awakening to True Nature: Just as the sheep-lion discovers his true identity, readers are encouraged to realize their own divinity and inherent power.
- Role of Spiritual Teachings: The “new lion” represents Yogananda’s teachings, which awaken individuals to their spiritual heritage through meditation and self-knowledge.
- Transformation: The story emphasizes that with persistent effort and right guidance, anyone can overcome fear and reclaim their “lion-like” divine nature.
12. What are the best quotes from "How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence" by Paramahansa Yogananda, and what do they mean?
- “Meet everybody and every circumstance on the battlefield of life with the courage of a hero and the smile of a conqueror.”
This encourages facing life’s challenges bravely and joyfully, seeing every situation as an opportunity for growth. - “Be calmly active and actively calm. That is the way of the yogi.”
Yogananda advocates integrating inner peace with outward action, maintaining balance in all circumstances. - “Sorrow has no objective existence. If you constantly affirm it, it exists. Deny it in your mind, and it will exist no longer.”
This highlights the power of thought and affirmation in shaping one’s reality and emotional state. - “You are all gods, if you only knew it. Behind the wave of your consciousness is the sea of God’s presence.”
The quote reminds readers of their divine origin and the limitless potential within. - “Meditation is the only way. Beliefs and reading books cannot give you realization.”
Yogananda emphasizes that direct spiritual experience through meditation is essential for true transformation.
Review Summary
How To Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence receives high praise from readers, with an average rating of 4.50/5. Many find it spiritually inspiring and practical, offering valuable insights for personal growth. Reviewers appreciate Yogananda's teachings on meditation and his ability to convey truths without dogma. Some describe it as a comforting bedside read, while others note its simplicity. A few readers expected more depth, finding it occasionally shallow or overly religious. Overall, most readers consider it a must-read for spiritual and personal development.
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